


Kliff Mildly Inconveniences Everyone to Enact His Bitter Revenge

by HyperfixationNation



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: DJ goes by he/they, Gen, Kliff is a dumbass, Post-Canon, Updates every Monday/Tuesday!!!, but he’s a dumbass, currently on hiatus, yeah he’s able to hack secret government projects
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26864104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyperfixationNation/pseuds/HyperfixationNation
Summary: Takes place about a week after the end of the game.Kliff is bitter over Bunk Bed Junction's “betrayal”, and the fact that NSR still reigns over Vinyl City.He decides that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
Comments: 39
Kudos: 224





	1. Kliff Mildly Inconveniences Himself With Thoughts of Bitterness and Revenge

**Author's Note:**

> In which our story begins with a short prologue to set up the plot.

“Ohh those lousy good-for-nothings!”

Kliff grumbled many other tame profanities under his breath as he stomped away from the main roads of Vinyl City.  
He sat on the step of an abandoned bakery, and stopped to think for a moment.

Not to ponder the faults in his actions, of course, but to further the bitterness he felt for Mayday and Zuke.

“How could they just abandon me like that! We were so close to getting what we wanted!”

Leaning forward, Kliff propped his head up on his hands.

“A bunch of chickens is what they are. Slimy, and overcooked, and-“

Just before he could finish throwing insults into the air, a car drove by and hit a puddle. The contents of it splashing and soaking Kliff.

“God damnit!” As he rubbed the stagnant water from his eyes, he got a chance to hear something in the distance.

The beat of an EDM song playing in the distance. Kliff scoffed in disgust, and looked to see where the offending music was coming from.

“That damn DJ, of course he’s blasting that filth in the dead of night!” Kliff stood up, and cupped his hands over his mouth as if the DJ could hear him like that. “Some of us want to listen to GOOD music while we sleep!!!”

Panting from screaming, Kliff slid himself down the wall. He sat in thought for a moment.

Very soon, a dastardly idea popped into his head, and he smiled as wide as he could.

“If that Bunk Bed Junction won’t take down NSR, then I guess I have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! I’ll try to update this weekly.
> 
> The next chapter will feature DJ Subatomic Supernova!


	2. Kliff Mildly Inconveniences DJ Subatomic Supernova

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which DJ babysits Yinu, and finds something of theirs missing.

“I’m going to ask you one last time, child.”

DJ leaned down to get to Yinu’s level in an attempt to intimidate her. They knew better, though. It takes a lot to scare Yinu, but they attempted regardless.

“Did. You. Eat. The. Ice. Pops.”

Yinu narrowed her eyes, staring directly into the depths of DJ’s helmet. Maybe even farther. They had no idea what this child was capable of, but they weren’t about to show weakness just yet.

“I did…” 

DJ sighed, pleased to finally have the answer they were looking for.

“You see, that wasn’t so hard, was i-“

“NOT!!”

The sudden loud sound from Yinu sent DJ jumping back. Yinu folded her arms, and turned away in protest.

“Good lord, child. How does your mother deal with you.”

The only response they got from Yinu was a stuck out tongue.

“Good, sit there for a bit. You’re on time out.” DJ walked to the door of the room, looking back once to see if Yinu responded at all. She didn’t, which they rather preferred.

They swiftly left the room, and took the stairs leading to the main stage. DJ took a breath, and entered their backstage lounge, quickly diving into a couch and screaming as loud as they could into a cushion.

“I can’t do this. Good god I cannot do this.”

After calming down, DJ looked around the lounge. They spotted their phone sitting on a coffee table, and realized what they had to do.

Swallowing their pride, they picked up their phone, and dialled Eve’s number.

As the phone rang, DJ tapped their fingers on their knee nervously.

“Come now, Eve, you never have anything important to do.”

After what seemed like hours, Eve answered the call.

“Hello, I have something important to do. Make it quick.”

Ignoring her frantic tone, DJ spared no time to explain their situation.

“You’ve taken care of little black holes before, correct?”

“I don’t have time for your space allegories, Supernova!”

“Children, Eve! With tempers so powerful that not even light can escape!”

An exasperated sigh could be heard at the other end of the line. “I ran an art program for them once in my youth. Why?”

“Great!” DJ laid back into the couch, and crossed a leg over the other. “How do you make them respect you as you deserve?”

“I…I don’t think that’s possible.” Eve thought for a moment. “Try giving them snacks, maybe.”

A sudden rage filled DJ’s chest at that. “THAT LITTLE M…that little monster already ate most of my so called _snacks!_ ”

A crash sounded in the background of Eve’s end, and yelling soon followed. “Look, just- it’s 9, just put them to bed or something, I need to go.”

“Wait! Wait!” Despite their pleas, Eve hung up soon after. DJ slumped back into the sofa, and rubbed their face.

———

Back upstairs, DJ found Yinu nodding off. Though, as they entered the room, she quickly sat upright.

“Are you getting tired, child?”

“No!” Yinu huffed, and crossed her arms.

“Are you sure?” DJ thought for a moment. Yinu was nine years old, she shouldn’t be that hard to manipulate. “I guess you…you want to meet the…the Night Monster!”

To DJ’s delight, Yinu froze. “The…the Night Monster?”

“Yes! It’s a monster that’s made it’s home in this very planetarium! It comes out at night to…uh…feast! To feast on naughty little children who don’t go to bed! Uh…and also Dodo Pops that don’t belong to them, because they’re bad!”

DJ raised their arms and wiggled their fingers in an attempt to exaggerate their story, which seemed to be working. Yinu was practically shivering.

“Th-then what are we waiting for!?” Yinu jumped up and grabbed DJ’s hand. “Show me to my room!”

———

It was rather dark in the room Yinu slept in. The lamp at her bedside barely filled the corner of the room with light, and there was only one small window on a wall. There wasn’t even a single LED, that seemed to adorn the entire planetarium, in sight.

Pulling the blanket in front of her face, Yinu’s eyes shot around the room. Fearing that this ‘Night Monster’ might sense that she’s still awake.

After minutes of keeping watch, Yinu finally began to doze off. Despite her attempts to keep her eyes open, the soon fell asleep.

———

**BANG**

Yinu shot upwards. She looked to the clock on her night table, hoping that it was just DJ that had knocked something over. To her dismay, the clock read _2:03 AM._ DJ must be in bed by now.

Being careful not to make a sound, Yinu slipped out of bed and tip-toed to the door. She opened it a crack, and froze. A shadow of… something was cast on the wall. It was a tall and slim figure, hunched over menacingly. Then, it disappeared.

It took all of Yinu’s willpower not to scream. She waited for a few moments, then quietly ran down the hallway to DJ’s room.

“DJ…” Yinu whispered, nudging the person in question. They were fast asleep. “DJ!” She tried, a bit louder, still to no avail.

Taking a deep breath, Yinu realized that she needed to take this situation into her own hands.

After running back to her room, she dug through her belongings. “Perfect!” Yinu pulled out a large trophy, one of the countless others she had won. It was rather heavy with plenty sharp edges, the perfect weapon.

“You better be ready, Night Monster.” Yinu swung the trophy over her shoulder, and made her way to the stairwell.

———

Rustling came from the backstage lounge, and Yinu went to investigate. The door to the lounge was already ajar, so she was able to slip through without a sound.

The rustling continued, and Yinu deducted that it was coming from behind another door. She peeked through the crack, and could barely make out a kitchen. There was a figure rummaging through the freezer. There was no doubt in her mind, it was the Night Monster.

“Okay, one…” Yinu took a deep breath, clenching the trophy. 

“Two…” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to summon her courage. 

“ **THREE!!!** ” Yinu kicked the door open, and ran towards the figure. 

Swinging her makeshift weapon wildly, she managed to knock the ‘Night Monster’ over. Dodo Pops began falling out of it’s jacket as Yinu kept attacking.

One particular swing knocked the figure forwards, and pair of glasses smashed against the ground.

“Crud!! My glasses! First my nose, and then my glasses!?”

“Shut up, Night Monster!!” Yinu screamed, and continued to whack the intruder. This time, her trophy caught on to the figure’s hood, pulling it back to reveal a head of fiery red hair.

“You!” Yinu recognized the supposed ‘Night Monster’ From bits of gossip she had heard from Tatiana, something about her number one fan, as she recalled. “Uh, Cleft! No…Kliff!! Get outta here before I break your face!”

“Geez, kid. DJ Subatomic was right, you _are_ a little monster.”

Yinu held her trophy back, as if she were preparing to swing, and the other flinched backwards. As he didn’t want to get attacked yet again, Kliff ran to the nearest window and jumped out. Some Dodo Pops still falling from his coat as he escaped.

Yinu set her trophy down, and leaned on it. She smiled to herself in triumph.

“What the hell was that???” Yinu spun around to see DJ bursting through the kitchen door. They switched the lights on, and looked on in horror as their remaining Dodo Pops were scattered across the floor.

“I got the Night Monster, Mx. Supernova!” Yinu exclaimed in glee. “Turns out it was Kliff! Look, he just jumped through that window.”

Eyeing the scene, DJ noticed a trail made out of the Dodo Pops leading right to an open window. They peered out the window, and spotted a few more of their frozen treats scattered about the pavement.

“Son of a bitch…” DJ whispered under their breath. “I suppose you’re not too bad for a black hole.” They put a hand on Yinu’s shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Nevermind.” DJ picked up Yinu, and placed her on their shoulder. “It’s bedtime for you now.”

“But I’m not tired!” Yinu whined, and DJ only laughed.

“Dear, you just beat an intruder into submission, you must be exhausted.”

That made Yinu giggle, and then yawn. She nuzzled into DJ’s neck, and soon dozed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> The next chapter will feature Sayu and her team!


	3. Kliff Mildly Inconveniences Sayu and Her Team (Mostly Her Team)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a noise disturbance shakes Vinyl City and puts Sayu in danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted a lil early because it’s almost Tuesday! Hope you enjoy!

At first, it was funny. Sayu had glitched and began screaming her commercial catchphrase “It’s Mermazing!” over and over again in many differing tones and speeds. But going on one to two hours, it became a bit less funny.

“Any luck, yet?” Dodo yelled to Remi and Sofa, who were digging around Sayu’s files.

“What do you THINK dodobrain??” Remi retorted. Dodo raised his hands in defence.

“Remi!!” Tila yelled. She leaned out of a hatch in Sayu’s head, and rubbed her temples. “Don’t start fighting you two! We need to get this fixed ASAP!” She hissed after yelling as her head pounded.

Remi grumbled a soft apology in Dodo’s general direction.

“Guys, I need a break.” Tila climbed down Sayu and jumped to the ground. “I’ve hated my own voice before, but never this much.

“I think we all need one.” Sofa closed his laptop and joined the others, Remi close behind.

“Okay, here’s the plan, then!” Remi piped up, shoving into the middle of the group. “We’ll head to the Festival Plaza to get some ice cream, stay there for a few hours, and then get right back to work!”

A silence fell over the group, only broken by Sayu’s repeated phrase. “Right” Dodo rolled his eyes, and headed for the exit.

“Guys, c’mon!” Tila ran after Dodo, and the others soon followed.

———

The sound of Sayu’s glitching could be heard by the team as they walked through the Akusaka District, then the Cast Tech District, and even as they sat down in the Festival Plaza.

“You think it’s bothering people?” Tila spoke meekly into her sleeves.

“I doubt it.” Sofa shovelled ice cream into his mouth without skipping a beat. “They play that stupid Shellfish ad in Akusaka on repeat 24/7.”

“I guess you’re rig-“

“THIS IS BOTHERING ME!!!”

The group whipped around to the source of the screaming. It was Zed, who was quite notorious for hating all sounds, stomping and covering his ears.

“That’s fine, it’s just Zed, right?” Tila tried to reason, mostly to herself. “It’s not that bad!”

“This is Vinyl City News.” Out of seemingly no where, Vinyl City’s news anchor appeared with a camera crew following. “We’re here to cover the story of the “ _It’s Mermazing_ ” disturbance. What is it? An out of control ad campaign? A statement? Maybe a protest! Will this outburst from the beloved digital idol decrease her fan base? Stay tuned to find out!”

“That’s just the local news! It’s still not that bad!” Tila’s eyes darted to each of her friends, hoping for some form of an agreement.

A ping sounded from Remi’s phone. “Guys, I got a text…from Tatiana…she wants to see us…”

Tila froze in place, shivering slightly at the mention of their employer’s name.

Looking to Tila, then to Remi, Dodo said what they were all thinking out loud. “It’s that bad.”

———

“We’re fine, right?” Tila shifted from foot to foot as the group rode the elevator to Tatiana’s office. “It’s not like we’re going to lose our jobs over something annoying, right? It’s not like Tatiana will fire us, then the Sayu devs will catch on, then we’ll lose our licence to use her, then we’ll be banned from drawing Sayu fan art ever again, and the devs will shun us, and-“

“SHUT UP for a SECOND!” Remi exclaimed. Everyone went quiet. “It’s just a glitch, man!”

“Whoa, take it easy!” Sofa held his hands up, and took a step back.

“No!! I won’t!! We’re not some stupid kids that don’t know what we’re doing!!”

“No one said th-“

“Just shut up! We don’t need to be here! We don’t need to be judged!”

“Remi-“ Dodo tried, but was quickly overpowered by Remi’s screaming.

“We don’t need to be told we made a mistake by some stupid, full of herself, ex musician!”

A curt cough echoed to the elevator, and Remi froze in place. He slowly turned around and made eye contact with Tatiana herself.

“Stupid, full of herself, ex musician, eh?” Tatiana repeated, somewhat playfully. “Not the worst I’ve been called so far.”

“M-miss Tatiana!” Remi gulped. “W-what a pleasure it is to-to see you!”

“Oh, don’t mind him.” Sofa quickly stepped in front of Remi. “He’s been grumpy all day today.”

“Y-yeah. Suuuuper grumpy!” Tila added, taking a step forwards as well. “He didn’t mean what he said!”

Remi wanted to retort and scream insults at the two, but he held his tongue. He was in the presence of the head of NSR, and he had already embarrassed himself enough.

The group was gestured to sit down, and they approached a long table that was set up in the middle of the office.

“Shut up, dodobrain.” Remi sneered at Dodo under his breath. The other simply shook his head in confusion.

———

“Not only is this ‘glitch’ very annoying, but it is drowning out the music we need to power the Grand Qwasa.”  
Tatiana pulled up a line graph on a tablet, and pointed to the beginning of the line. “You see, here is the energy output about one to two hours ago, almost consistently at fifty two percent.” She dragged her finger across the line, following as it dipped.  
“Now, we’re at twenty three percent and lowering.”

The group listened intently, absorbing the urgency of the situation. All except for Remi, who seemed occupied with rolling his pen on the table.

“Remi, are you listening?” Tatiana slammed her hand on the table to assure she got his attention. Remi’s head shot up.

“I’m-I’m listening…relax.” Remi spat, leaning back and avoiding eye contact. His friends looked on in horror.

“I don’t much like your tone, child.” Tatiana leaned forwards, looming over Remi with a look of complete seriousness on her face.

In that moment, Remi’s anger got the better of his judgement. “Bite me.” He hissed, without even looking up.

The blood boiling in Tatiana’s veins was practically tangible. With a nervous wheeze, Tila waved her arms to bring the attention away from her friend.

“M-Miss Tatiana, we don’t want any trouble! Honest!” She tried. “We’ll get this glitch fixed in no time!”

Tatiana eyed the group with suspicion, but leaned back into her chair. “I expect you to.” She started. “If you don’t manage to fix this by the end of the day, I will have to shut Sayu down.”

The eyes of the group all widened. “That’s not fair!” Remi shouted, jumping out of his chair. “It’s not our fault that some stupid glitch happened!!”

“Remi-“ Tila tried to pull her friend back into his seat, but he simply slapped her hands away.

“That will be enough out of you.” Tatiana stood from her seat. “If you keep your focus on fixing this problem, you all will have nothing to worry about. Now, go.” She gestured for the group to head to the elevator, and they obliged.

———

“What the hell was that all about, Remi!?” Sofa ran to catch up to Remi, who was speed walking away from the others.

“Yeah, you were being weird!” Tila caught up to Remi as well.

“Look! Just-“ Remi spun around to face his friends. “Leave me alone! All of this is so stupid, and I don’t need you guys bothering me about it too!” With that, he stormed off, leaving the others behind.

They stood there in shock for a few moments. Dodo soon caught up to the others, and stood beside them. “What the hell is he talking about?”

———

The Akusaka District was rather empty, by the stairs with Sayu’s face painted on it, where Remi sat. He wondered if it was because it was getting late, or if everyone got sick of hearing ‘It’s Mermazing!’ up close every other second. His fingers tapped frantically on the keys of his laptop, he knew he was running out of time.

“Remi!” He didn’t look up as Tila came running towards him. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

“Go away…” Remi muttered. “Haven’t I been mean enough to you?”

“Look I…I don’t know what’s going on…but…” She sat down on the step, beside Remi. “We need you if we’re going to fix this.”

After a few more taps on his keyboard, Remi turned to his friend, tears threatening to fall. “I was being a bit tsundere today, wasn’t I?” He received a playful punch in the arm at that.

“A bit?”

“Okay, a lot.” He chuckled, then tried to secretly wipe a tear from his eye. Though, Tila noticed right away.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong, Remi? Something really seems to be bothering you…”

“No, it’s…” He closed his laptop and hugged it, staring at the ground. “My parents…want me to stop doing art for Sayu…”

The look on Tila’s face was of pure shock when Remi looked up again. A million questions popped into her brain, but she settled on one. “Why in hell would they want you to stop???”

“They say it’s too unpredictable. Too many things can go wrong. And this…glitch…I’m afraid that it’s going to be the last straw…”

In no time at all, Remi was pulled to his feet.

“Listen here, mister!” Tila stood on her toes to make herself look at least a little bit taller than Remi. “I’m your mama now, and I say your art is amazing! We need you on our team! Especially now! So you’re going to get your butt back to Kura Kura, and we’re going to fix that mermaid!”

“O-okay.” Remi wiped the remaining tears from his eyes, and took Tila’s hand. She guided him along the path back to Kura Kura Stream Hub.

———

When the two returned, they were greeted with a less than warm welcome. Specifically from Dodo, who scoffed the moment Remi walked through the door.

“I think you need to talk to him…” Tila whispered to Remi, who simply sighed.

Remi approached Dodo, who was sitting on a large seashell and tapping away at the code on his phone. He didn’t bother looking up as Remi approached him.

“I uh…I’m sorry…” 

Dodo’s eyes flicked up for a moment, but went right back to his phone. “For what?” He mumbled.

“You know…uh.. picking on you.” Remi scratched his arm. “Calling you dodobrain…. I wasn’t angry at you, honest! I was just…just projecting my anger onto you…”

With a sigh, Dodo stood up and playfully slapped the back of Remi’s head. “Yeahhh, that’s right you little turd.” They both giggled.

“Awwww! Friends agaaaain!” Tila teased as Sofa laughed behind her.

“Hey, shut up.” Dodo chuckled, then held out his phone. “Okay folks, gather ‘round. I got a lead.”

The group gathered to see the text on Dodo’s phone. “Turns out this ‘glitch’ isn’t actually a glitch. We got hacked!” Everyone gasped, Tila covering her mouth with her sleeves.

“Good news:” Dodo continued. “This is easier to fix. Good- _er_ news, our hacker forgot to cloak their personal data, to I’ve got their computer name riiiight here! So, look out…KulFyra_thebest, we’re tracking you down!”

The team got right to work. Remi and Sofa on their laptops, Dodo on his phone, and Tila working on the main computers in Sayu’s head.

Soon enough, the bad coding was completely removed, and Sayu quieted down.

“Oohhh, I’m sleepy!” Sayu finally spoke, to the relief of her creators. “Nighty night!” With that, Sayu ‘swam’ to her charging station.

“Thank god that’s over!” Tila sat on the ground and fell backwards, rubbing her head.

“Yo, wanna mess with the guy that hacked us?” Dodo leaned over Remi’s shoulder, and pointed out the computer name and IP address of their hacker.

“What are you thinking of?” Sofa leaned over to look at Remi’s screen as well.

“How about a taste of their own medicine?” Tila added.

With a nod, Remi began typing up a fake email to send to the hacker, along with a wonderful surprise.

———

Kliff kicked his legs across the concrete of the abandoned bakery. “Oh boy! They must have finally shut down that dumb mermaid! I knew there'd be no way they were going to keep her on for much longer with that annoying sound playing over and over again! Heh, now they know what I hear.”

A ping sounded from Kliff’s tablet. A notification popped up, and Kliff squinted through his cracked glasses to read it. “What’s this? An email?” 

Upon opening it, the email read:

_Dear talented hacker, you have just won the opportunity to earn prize money in an international hack-off! To apply to enter, please click the link below._

“Well, that’s fantastic!” With no second thought, Kliff happily tapped the link.

**“1-2-3-4! MOTION ON THE OCEAN FLOOR!”**

The booming music was suddenly produced by the tablet, and Kliff fell back, covering his ears. “Good god! What is this racket!?”

Trying to cover his ears with his shoulders, Kliff grabbed his tablet and tried everything to shut the music off. It was no use. The music kept blasting the chorus of one of Sayu’s songs, so loud that Kliff’s ears began to ring.

In the end, Kliff threw his tablet into a puddle by the road. It sparked, frying the tablet, and the music slowed to a stop.

_“Goddamnit.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Disclaimer: I have no idea how coding works, so don’t think to hard about it XD
> 
> The next chapter will feature Yinu and her Mother!


	4. Kliff Mildly Inconveniences Yinu and Her Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a minor setback threatens to delay Yinu’s performance.

The streets of the Cast Tech and Akusaka Districts were bustling with life, more so than Mama had ever seen before. Perhaps, she noted, that it was due to the noise disturbance she heard of on the news from the day prior that kept people at home.

Walking through the Cast Tech District, and on to the planetarium, Mama picked up Yinu, who was waiting for her at the entrance.

“What took you so long!” Yinu exclaimed, running to her mother.

“Yinu, I’m just two minutes late!” Mama kneeled down to give her daughter a hug.

“I guess…” Yinu huffed, then hugged her mother back.

As they made their way home, Yinu skipped down the sidewalk and told her mother all about her time with the DJ, and about something called the ‘Night Monster’.

As they arrived in Natura, Yinu, spotted a patch of freshly cut grass, and ran ahead. “Mama! Look!” She exclaimed, then dove into the grass, where she rolled around and giggled. Mama sat on the curb and joined her in laughter, feeling her daughter’s excitement. All of a sudden, Mama recalled Yinu’s performance.

“Yinu, my dear! Don’t get too dirty, now. You do remember what you’re doing in a few hours, don’t you?”

Dread coursed through Yinu’s body, and she sighed, laying on her back. Her mother noticed.

“Yinu, what’s wrong?”

“I guess…” she started, clasping her hands together then wiggling her fingers. “I guess I was hoping we could play for today. I mean…you just got back!”

Mama’s heart sank, “Oh, Yinu…” and she gave her daughter a hug. “Okay…I’ll tell you what. Since you’re already dressed for your performance, let Mama get settled in at home first. Then, we’ll have plenty of time to play! Just don’t get dirty! How about that?”

“Hmm…okay.” Yinu smiled, and jumped up to hug her mother back. “I really missed you, mama.”

“I missed you too, my dear.” She picked up Yinu. “But we should get home and and make sure they have finished cleaning after your last performance!”

———

When the two returned to Natura Concert Hall, to Mama’s relief, it was spotless from top to bottom. Yinu ran off to visit her piano while Mama examined her surroundings. The dirt and rubble that Mama expected to find left behind from last week’s battle had vanished. It was the perfect atmosphere for a concert. Nothing could go wrong.

Just then, a shrill scream hit Mama’s ears. It was Yinu. She ran as fast as she could to the stage, the source of the scream, and knelt beside her sobbing daughter.

“Yinu, my dear! What’s wrong!?” She frantically asked.

“M-my…my PIANO!” Was all Yinu could blurt through her sobs, pointing at her piano with a shaking arm.

Standing up, Mama examined the piano more closely. Her eyes widened, seeing every single key from Yinu’s piano was missing, causing anger to rise in Mama’s chest. Her mind began to drift, thinking _“Who would do such a thing? Such a thing to her child. Her child who’s done nothing to warrant such hatred. It must have been the cleaners who took the keys off to sell them and-“_

“MAMA! STOP!”

Snapping back to reality, Mama froze at her daughter’s command. She then slowly turned around to see Yinu crawling on the ground towards her, and took a cautious step back.

“Yinu! did I tell you about getting dirty!?”

“Never mind about that now! Look!” Yinu snatched something from the ground. “It’s one of my missing keys! You almost stepped on it!”

Mama chuckled in embarrassment, thinking what disaster it would be if she had broken one of the keys, the piano would never work with eighty seven. Dismissing her error, Mama instead replied “Good work, Yinu!” She then took the key from her and examined it for dirt before snapping it back onto the piano.

Yinu got up and stood beside her mother, looking at the piano. “Do you think the thief dropped the keys while they were running away?” She spun around, searching for more of her missing keys on the stage.

“Perhaps…” Mama responded halfheartedly, certain it was the cleaners, but decided to indulge Yinu’s theory anyway. Besides, they would be spending time together. “How about you look in here, and I look outside?”

As Yinu looked inside the concert hall, Mama made her way to the back door, and stepped outside. She was not expecting to find anything, but to her surprise, some more of the missing keys were scattered on the pavement before her.

“Yinu! Over here! I found something!” Yinu ran to the back door of the concert as her mother called.

“More keys!!” Yinu exclaimed, jumping in excitement. She ran outside to scoop them up.

Mama watched on as Yinu struggled to keep the keys in her arms, some of them falling to the ground as she walked. “Shoot, I need more pockets!”

“Oh! Yinu, darling! I have have an idea!” Mama rushed to a drawer backstage, and pulled out a small plastic shopping bag.

“Let’s keep them in here, so we don’t lose them.” Mama held the bag open for Yinu, who dumped the keys she was holding into it.

“Come on! There must be more around here!” Yinu sped off towards the front of the building, Mama struggling to keep up with her daughter’s excited pace.

“Yinu! Please stay with mama! Yinu!!”

———

After thoroughly searching around the concert hall, Yinu and Mama decided to head for the Natura District next. Several more keys scattered near the bottom of the ladder assured the two that they were on the right track.

As Yinu felt around some of the taller patches of grass, Mama thought to ask some residents if they’ve seen anything.

One such person was Amal, a rather peculiar man who insisted on wearing a unicorn costume. He was most likely to see something as he frequented Natura.

“Yeah uh…saw someone shady-like last night while I was on break.” Amal scratched his face.

“Did you see where this person went?” Mama asked quickly, anxious to get moving.

“Uh-huh. Went to the Metro District I think.”

“You think!?” Mama snapped. Not satisfied with his answer, she leaned in towards Amal. “I don’t have time for any ‘I thinks’!”

“Hey, look.” Amal took a step back, holding his hands up in defence. “I’m sorry, Miss, that’s all I saw!”

“Amal, I want you to tell me exactly what you saw or-“

“Mama, stop it!” Yinu, who had been listening in on her mother’s conversation, ran to grab Mama’s hand. “Let’s go check the Metro District!”

Looking to her daughter, then to Amal, Mama realized that she was out of line. Without a word, she turned and headed towards the Metro District.

After nodding to Amal, Yinu ran to catch up to her mother. “I wish you weren’t so mean to people, mama…” Yinu looked to the ground as she walked.

“I’m sorry, Yinu.” Mama said, feeling even more guilty than she did before, and remained silent for the rest of the walk to the Metro District.

———

It wasn’t long before the magnificent lights of the Metro District began to lift their spirits. Yinu’s eyes sparkled as she watched lights flicker and dance across the skyline.

Mama watched her daughter with delight. They hadn’t been to the Metro District often, so it was a sight to behold every visit. But, despite the wonderful scenery, Mama kept her mind to their mission: Find the keys.

All of a sudden, Yinu gasped loudly.

“Mama! Look!” Yinu pointed to a carousel, with rocket ships instead of horses, in the middle of the street. “Can I ride? Pleeeeease! Please! Please!”

“I don’t know, darling…” Mama looked around for a clock. “I don’t think we have enough…” She trailed off as she watched the excited smile on her daughter’s face fade away. It made her heart sink.

“Okay, darling. One ride.” Mama smiled as Yinu jumped and cheered, before running to the carousel’s line.

As Yinu was occupied, Mama sat on a bench close by. She opened the plastic bag to count the keys they had collected so far. Mama sighed. _“Not even close…”_

After the ride, Yinu skipped over to her mother. “Look what I found on the ride!” She waved two of her keys, and dumped them into the bag.

“Oh excellent, Yinu!” Mama gently ruffled her daughter’s hair, careful not to pull it loose from it’s ties. “Riding the carousel was a good idea!”

“I know!” Yinu threw her arms in the air in triumph. “Let’s go find more!” She grabbed her mother’s hand, and pulled her to another part of the Metro District.

———

Luck was on Mama and Yinu’s side. They found another trail of keys scattered across the sides of the busy streets. 

The trail led to a tech store. As Yinu picked up keys from the isles, Mama spoke to the cashier.

“Yeah, someone came around with those piano keys falling out of his pockets. Seemed like a regular Thursday for him, so I didn’t say anything.”

“What did he look like?” Mama leaned on the counter.

“Cracked glasses, red hair…bought a tablet, so he’s probably carrying it around. He definitely doesn’t have any free pockets.”

Yinu dumped the keys she found in the bag, and Mama waved goodbye to the cashier.

As they left the store, Mama glanced over to a public clock. The time before Yinu was to perform was winding down.

“How many keys do we have left to find, mama?” It was as if Yinu had read her frantic mind. Mama quickly counted the keys in the bag. “Ten more, darling.” She said, in relief.

“Yay! Almost done!” Yinu ran ahead to sweep the rest Metro District for her keys once more.

Just before Mama could catch up to her daughter, someone caught her eye. Dash, one of the cleaners she had hired, was working on cleaning windows around the district.

_Now we shall get some answers._

Without thinking, Mama threw the bag of keys to the side, and approached the cleaner.

“DASH!” She screamed, expecting a full confession. But all she got in response was a suave “Hey, there.”

“Don’t act so innocent! How could you do this to my Yinu!?”

“Huh?” Dash cocked his head in confusion. “Do…what?”

“Stop playing dumb!!!” 

Having reached her limit, Mama's form began to grow. She grabbed Dash by the back of his collar, and held him high above the ground.

“L-listen, lady!! I don’t know what you’re on about, but y-you need to put me down!!” Dash began to choke and pulled on his collar that dug into his neck while swinging his legs around, trying to free himself.

All eyes in the District were focused on this event now, which caught Yinu’s attention. She discarded the keys she had found and ran towards her mother, screaming for her to stop.

“MAMA! PLEASE!!” Yinu cried, dropping to the ground and grabbing her mother’s leg, punching to try to get her attention.

The punches snapped Mama out of her rage. She dropped Dash, and slowly shrank to her normal size. “Yinu…I-I’m sorry I-“ Mama said, then realized that Yinu wasn’t beside her, and looked around.

Yinu was kneeling beside a plastic bag, to Mama’s horror. It was the bag of keys. Flattened. The keys inside broken without a doubt.

“Yinu…” Mama leaned down beside Yinu, and tried to put a hand on her shoulder. Her daughter slapped it away.

“I SO HATE YOU!” Yinu began to sob. She stood up, trying to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

“Yinu, I’m sorry, I-“

“NO!” Yinu stomped as she screamed. “YOU RUIN EVERYTHING! I’M GOING HOME!”

Before Mama could get another word in, Yinu was already running towards the Natura District.

“Yinu…”

Mama sat back into a bench, averting her gaze from the frightened stares around her. Her eyes lingered on the crushed bag of keys, and she swallowed down her tears.

After several moments of thinking, and a few nervous glances to the public clock, an idea popped into Mama’s head.   
She needed help, and knew just the person to ask.

———

“Listen up, troops!”

Beneath the Metro District, 1010 were preparing for their concert scheduled for the following day.

“I want to see you all in tip top shape!” Neon J barked as he paced in front of his ‘troops’. “Not like last concert’s bitter defeat…” His radar sped up and pinged at the thought.

“Now, remember!” Neon J stood up straight, and faced his robots. “With the factory still in repair, you are the last soldiers in your platoon. I do not authorize any risky actions under any circumstance! No crowd diving, no autographs, no meeting fans! Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!” 1010 responded in unison.

“Excellent! Dis-MI-“

_**Ding dong** _

A shock of pure terror shot through Neon J’s spine, and he swiftly pulled out his tranquilizer gun from his jacket, pointing it in the direction of the noise. “WHO’S THERE!?”

“Sir!” One of Neon J’s troops stepped forwards to comfort his captain. “Breathe, it’s just the doorbell.”

Without lowering the gun, Neon J ran to a closet, one of the many rooms in the mansion to be repurposed as a surveillance room, and checked the front door cameras.

A woman stood at the front door. Her yellow eyes darted around the building, and she pulled on her long, black dress. It was clear that it was Yinu’s mother. Neon J holstered his gun, but kept a hand hovering over the pocket. Just in case. He crept to the front doors, opening them a crack. “What brings you here today, miss?”

“Neon, I need a favour from you.” Mama’s tone was more desperate than she had intended, but Neon J took the urgency in her voice with seriousness.

“Lilan, did something happen?” His radar pinged in concern, and he opened the door to let Mama in.

“I…made a mistake.” Mama rubbed her arm, finding it hard to make eye contact. “I got angry and…and broke all of Yinu’s piano keys!”

“I…see.” Neon J thought for a moment, tapping his foot. “What did you come here for?”

“Do you…do you still have your workshop? From when you made toys?”

With that, Neon J pieced everything together. “To fashion piano keys?”

“Exactly! Eighty seven of them!” Mama jumped, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “What will it cost? I’ll pay anything!”

“Oh, payment won’t be necessary. If it’ll help Yinu, I’d be happy to.”

Mama dove into Neon J’s arms, wrapping him in a hug. “Thank you! Thank you!”

“It-It’s nothing.” Neon J chuckled nervously. “I can start working now, when do you need them?”

“Uh…what time is it now?”

One of the 1010 members popped out from behind a wall, and exclaimed the time in a sing-songy tone.

Upon hearing it, Mama’s face went pale. “How about right now…?”

“Well…since you asked so nicely.” He smiled and got to work.

———

The Natura Concert Hall seemed much farther than it was to Mama, who was running towards it as fast as she could.

With unnecessary force, Mama burst through the front doors of the concert hall. She ran as fast as she could to the backstage, ignoring the sea of stares she received from the already seated audience.

“Yinu, darling!” Mama panted at the side of the backstage room. 

The young prodigy didn’t respond. She was preoccupied with pulling the one key left on her piano out and placing it in a different slot, in an attempt to play a short tune.

“L-look!” Mama tried again. “I got you new keys! You can play now!”

“Play?” Yinu slammed the key with her fist. “PLAY?”

“Yinu, don’t shout!”

“I CAN SHOUT IF I WANT TO!” Tears pricked at Yinu’s eyes. “I NEVER GET TO DO ANYTHING I WANT TO!!”

“Yinu, dear-“ Mama looked to the wall clock hanging in the room. “Look, we can talk about this after your performance. You’re on no-“

“NO!” Yinu cut her mother off. “What if I don’t WANT TO PERFORM!? Have you ever thought about THAT?” Tears began to fall down Yinu’s cheeks.

“But Yinu!” Mama set the bag of the new keys down, and took a step towards her daughter. “I…You were so upset when you saw your piano broken.”

“I am upset!” Yinu turned to her piano and rested her forehead on it. “I love playing piano, but I love just playing too. I just wanted to spend some more time with you…we’re always so busy…”

“Yinu…” Mama looked to the clock again, it was showtime, yet the urgency she felt disappeared.

“Yinu, I’m so sorry.” She sat beside Yinu and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a hug as her daughter sobbed into her side.

Minutes passed. Then more. Then more. But it didn’t matter to Mama, she cared about her daughter far too much.

After giving Yinu a kiss on the forehead, Mama stepped out past the curtains to the stage. A very impatient audience sat before her as she stepped in front of the microphone.

She took a deep breath. “Thank you, everyone, for coming to Yinu’s concert today.” She started, nervously grabbing at the microphone’s stand. “But I’m afraid something has come up.”

Producers and directors scrambled to try and put a stop to Mama’s unprecedented announcement, but Yinu screamed for them all to sit down.

“The show is cancelled, everyone! Go home! Bring any questions you have to our producers!” Mama walked back past the curtains, trying to tune out the disappointed groans and protests of the audience.

The moment she stepped into the back of the stage, Yinu jumped on Mama, pulling her into a big hug.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!” Yinu squealed.

“Of course, dear!” Mama squeezed Yinu, then set her down. “I’m sorry today wasn’t a good day…”

“Are you kidding?” Yinu’s face lit up, much to Mama’s surprise. “I had so much fun looking for the piano keys! And we got to visit the Metro District! We should go on a treasure hunt again some time!”

“Of course! Maybe not with your piano keys next time, though.” Mama chuckled, and gave her daughter another hug. “How about we go back to the Metro District and get some ice cream, hm?” 

“YES!” Yinu hopped in place, then ran to the backdoor of the concert hall.

Despite things working out in the end, a thought still bothered Mama. Who in the world would do this to Yinu? But looking at Yinu’s bright smile pushed the thought into the back of her mind. It was ice cream time.

———

At the abandoned bakery on the outskirts of Vinyl City, Kliff had collected several newspapers. Some were discarded ones he found on the ground, and some were discarded ones he found in the trash. He dumped them inside the bakery in an attempt to fashion a bed. If he was going to stay near Vinyl City to enact his revenge, he might as well be comfortable.

“Just one more…” Kliff’s eyes shot around, looking to see if any newspapers happened to be blowing by. To his luck, he spotted someone reading one at a nearby bus stop.

“Excuse me!” Kliff approached the person, who didn’t bother lifting their head. “Do you happen to be finished with that newspaper?”

“I guess.” The person handed their newspaper to Kliff, who took it without hesitation.

“Ah yes! Thank you very much!” Kliff turned the newspaper in his hands, flipping the front page towards him. His eyes widened with glee.

“Natura concert cancelled? Oh boy! Those fans must be so disappointed! I knew they’d never find the keys I stole! Oh Kliff, you’re a genius!”

“Hey! Wait a minute!” Kliff spun around to face the person at the bus stop, who was approaching him far too quickly. “You’re the one who got Yinu’s concert cancelled!?”

“Um…” Kliff began to back up, holding the newspaper up as a makeshift shield. “N-no…?”

“It was him!” Out of seemingly no where, dozens of people approached Kliff from all directions. “He was the one who got Yinu’s concert cancelled!”

“I take it you’re all fans.” Kliff pulled his scarf loose, as it felt far too tight all of a sudden.

Without a second thought, Kliff started running away as fast as he could. The crazed Yinu fans followed close behind. Some nearly caught up to him, pulling at his jacket. One grabbed his scarf and ripped it off with ease. 

A few other fans began throwing rocks at Kliff. One of them hitting him straight in the head, knocking him out.

By the time Kliff came to, his glasses were more cracked than before, and his clothes were torn. Not to mention the constant ache across his entire body.

“Crud.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Next chapter will feature Neon J and the 1010 bots!


End file.
